Dan. I appreciated the posting on the Overhead Railway. This distinctive, elevated electric railway was so important and timely to the docks and surrounding communities. We can only imagine what an updated version would offer to Liverpool. One of my favourite memories is being taken for a ride on the trams then the Overhead by my Da (a rigger in the docks) aged 4 in 1956.We went from the underground Dingle station to Seaforth. The crowded carriages, evocative clatter, electric whine and views of the docks have remained with me. I recall asking why the docks were known as the 'Liverpool' docks when most of them were definitely in Bootle. My Da offered people's lack of education or carelessness with expression! Sadly, the Overhead closed weeks after my ride and trams were replaced by buses. I have been lucky enough to ride and work on electrified, elevated railtracks around the World but none left as magical an impression on me as the Overhead. My second favourite railtrack, the spectacular Sydney Monorail, opened in 1988 but closed in 2013, being mainly used by tourists. Ah well, I still dream of these railtracks, along with my Hornby 000 electric train, the 'Dutchess of Montrose'. I confess to still having the transformer. Walshy (A mongrel engineer).

Cheers Dan,Huge interest in 2017 pushing them into loss, presume that relates to Liverpool Container port start up, new handling equipment etc.It would be nice to see the breakdown results of their various activities, particularly the ports operations on the Mersey and Medway/Sheerness.Ken

Dan. As an engineer having spent many years on and around ships and ports,I particularly appreciated the Liverpool Pilot, dock bottom and dredger photos. The 1950s Pier Head photo took me straight back to visits there as a kid - my paternal Grandmother would take us on the Birkenhead or New Brighton Ferry, enjoying a glass of guinness (lemo + crisps for us) in the ferry bar. I can still smell the heady mix of the Mersey, marine diesel, salt from a twisted blue greaseproof paper bag in the crisp packet and the black stuff from those early days. Walshy.

Dan. Nice photos of the Mersey Gateway project, especially the pylon bases. Over many years, I acted as a marine corrosion engineer, looking at ballast tanks, steel piling supports etc. It was always a buzz to work safely inside a good coffer dam with the sea waves lapping outside. Sadly, as the years progressed, I worked on fewer docks and oilrig platform supports but more shopping and yachting marinas. Walshy.

Dan. Two of my favourite subjects - stained glass and the Princes Landing stage. From time to time, as a hobby, I repaired small stained glass panels, mainly from churches but also coat of arms and old front door panels, using a small furnace, home made pigments and leaded strips. My Da worked as a rigger for the MDHB for years; I still recall his Donkey jacket with the initials emblazoned on the back. As a kid, I spent hours gently bobbing up and down on the wooden landing stage, just watching the ferries dock, the wash from the river and the pilot, dredgers and ships go past. Walshy.

Cheers Walshy.My abiding memory of the docks is getting the 5o'clock bus from St Martin's on Stanley Road.The dockers getting on at Strand Road would be laughing while trying not to get my bright blue blazer dirty.